Frank and open discussions on, of and about Zimbabwe

Would you go back to Zimbabwe?

A significant proportion of the Zimbabwean population has emigrated to other parts of the world over the years. The reasons are multiple, one of the main ones being economic. The situation in Zimbabwe has proven difficult for people to get a job and earn a decent wage to cater to their personal and family needs.
Since I returned to Zimbabwe in 2014, a question I have received quite a bit was, “why did you come home?” The short answer is that I wanted to give Zimbabwe a chance, I wanted to see what I could do to contribute to the growth and development of my country. At the time I moved back I was 24 years old, had the luxury of living at home with no dependents to take care of so it was move I was able to take.
Fast forward two and a bit years later and I am still here and still want to be here. As things stand I am still committed to making my decision to move back work and still focused on contributing towards the development of a better Zimbabwe.
I was curious to find out though, what those who aren’t in Zimbabwe thought about coming back. I have a number of friends who live across the globe and have done so for some time.
So I asked a question on Facebook:

The response I got was quite interesting. A few years ago, I’d have thought that many people were interested in coming back home. Perhaps it was nostalgia, my peers and I were younger then and hadn’t been gone from Zim for too long. But now that some people are about 10 years out of Zim, living and building lives elsewhere, that nostalgia doesn’t translate practically to relocating back home it seems.
For some of those that would come home a drawing factor would be a secure economy, guaranteed place of employment and basic services. Here are some of the other replies to the post.

There are more comments on the page that I think are worth looking at. One of the more interesting replies is the one below that speaks about avenues for Zimbabweans who have chosen to reside elsewhere, to contribute meaningfully back home.

What I gather from all this is that there are no hard and fast rules. It pays though to be clear about where you want to be and what you want to be doing. A sad part for me from all of this is that it seems that there has been yet another generation that has been robbed of being able to live and work in their home country. The sense still exists that if some who are here had the opportunity to, they would also seek out other pastures and many are constantly striving to.
My prayer is that those of us who are here are able to create a better Zimbabwe. Not so that people stop leaving or that those who are away come back, but mainly so that they have the viable option to stay or return if they so choose.

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Conversation Zimbabwe

Conversation Zimbabwe is coordinated by a team of like and unlike-minded people with one shared vision: Moving Zimbabwe forward, someway, somehow. Together, we seek to encourage open & honest conversations on key issues related to Zimbabwe.
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